Girl Scouts visit Women Can Build photo exhibit

Looking up at the photo of Hilda Solis, currently L.A. County Supervisor and Metro Board Member.

Examining the historical photos from the Library of Congress.

Picking out her favorite photo of the exhibit.

As a child of the early ’90s, I grew up with the rallying cry of “girl power” and “girls can do anything!” This is patently untrue because I am still not a dragon and I still can’t teleport.

On a more serious note, while the movement was well-meaning, today there is still a noticeable gender gap in the STEM fields (science, technology, engineering and math), construction and manufacturing. That’s why it’s still important to acknowledge the accomplishments of the women who do work in these fields, and to continue encouraging young girls that careers in those fields are absolutely options available to them.

Girl Scout Troop 16155 based in downtown Los Angeles visited the exhibit last week to learn about the “modern Rosie the Riveters.”

The visit preludes a Girl Scouts of Greater Los Angeles summer camp called MAGIC (Mentoring a Girl in Construction), where girls in grades 8 to 12 will work with women in construction to explore and develop basic skills in carpentry, electrical engineering and even plumbing. Hopefully, Troop 16155’s visit to Women Can Build will inspire more girls to attend the summer camp!

Women Can Build has extended its run at Union Station through the end of June.